Durkheim's Views On Capitalism

Durkheim did not think Capitalism was as bad as Marx believed it to be, but Durkheim had the advantage of seeing how Capitalism played. Durkheim thought that the division of labor (economic specialization or specialization of labor) was necessary for society to progress and advance. He acknowledged alienation, but argued that it was very rare for this to happen. Progress and advancement was the good that came out of the political and social transformations in the 1800’s, but the preventable deaths and mistreatment of people were some of the bad things that happened for the good to occur. Durkheim was concerned with social solidarity, or the togetherness of social groups. Societies go from simple (mechanical solidarity) to complex (organic solidarity).
Weber believes the driving force behind social order is power. He decides to study society through class, status, and politics (party). Class is a group of people that have in common certain life chances, and are in a similar position economically and with opportunities. Status is your standing in society. This is your honor, respect, or prestige. Status is more stable, because it can with stand most changes. Finally, politics are organizations of power. Their purpose is for domination, and for the benefits of the members. This differs from Marx because Marx focused on the economical difference (who owns the means of production and who does not), whereas Weber takes into account the social aspects as well as economic. Weber believed bureaucracy had “purely technical superiority over any form of organization” (Edles and Appelrouth 210). The problems bureaucracy creates is the rise of power in elite officials, and the formal rules under bureaucracy causes a loss of individual freedom in the
I am a poor European immigrant in the U.S. in the early 1900s. I have decided to illegally sell alcoholic beverages in the Prohibition (1920-1933). I now have made a huge fortune. The Prohibition ends and I want to consolidate my position in society. I already have achieved class rank in society because of my big fortune. Now, to achieve status I need to do things with fortune. I need to give back to society (especially lower class), but make sure everyone knows it was me. I can open a library, university, or museum and name it after myself. Additionally, to get into the politics aspect I can either go straight into politics myself or just give money to politicians who support my causes. I may have already been in politics, giving money to politicians who supported the end of the Prohibition, so that I am no longer seen as a criminal or have to be concerned with being put in jail. However, I may have been giving money to politicians who support the Prohibition so I could continue to make my illegal fortune. People who have power are the ones who make the rules of the game, and that’s exactly what this case